


That's Too Bad

by ChangeTheCircumstances



Series: The Relationships of James Gasciogne [2]
Category: Atomic Blonde (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, David Lives, Delphine lives, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Gen, Lorraine and David make a deal, Unreliable Narrator, sort of study on David's character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 19:06:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11720622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChangeTheCircumstances/pseuds/ChangeTheCircumstances
Summary: Lorraine has lied to keep a lot of secrets hidden. After all her time as an operative, this one just might be the most important.





	That's Too Bad

**Author's Note:**

> I came up with this idea after seeing the movie for a second time. Originally I hated Percival a lot but after thinking about it and seeing the movie again and having a better understanding of the plot and some of the character's connections, I wanted to take a stab at maybe understanding him a bit better and also take advantage of the fact that Lorraine is an unreliable narrator. Anyways, I had fun writing this. Hope you enjoy reading it!

The best lies lay in half truths. It was one of the first things Lorraine had ever learned. She’d used that one, simple rule against many people: colleagues, lovers, friends, both the British and Soviet governments.

She’d never done it to her own people though. There had never been a reason. And yet, one major point in her solo briefing with Kurzfeld was wrong. She had passed it off as truth to the Brits and she did the same to her real superior for one simple reason.

Lorraine still had a heart, even if most didn’t see it. Death was a companion in her line of work, that was true enough, but that didn’t mean it always came first.

After spending time in her old life, she took a vacation to Paris.

* * *

 

“You want to know the fucking game?” David asked, lying on the ground in front of her. He’d given his speech, laughed as she’d called him Comrade Satchel. But he was still going, still talking. “It’s the oldest one in the book.”

If things had gone differently, Lorraine may have shot him in the chest. If she hadn’t learned one, small bit of information, Percival might have already been dead. If he’d succeeded… But despite the innocence Delphine possessed that had drawn Lorraine in the first place, she hadn’t been put in this line of work for nothing.

One large lungful of air, the quick thinking to go slack before she actually passed out, and the simple fact that Lorraine’s arrival had scared David away, meant she had lived. That, along with the small bit of info, was why Lorraine had shot David in the leg instead. It was why she was allowing him to keep talking.

“Revenge and survival,” David laughed. “Add greed in and you’ve got the basic components for humanity.”

It was so simple. After seeing that photo in the broken frame from the apartment and the images Delphine had taken of David meeting with and killing Bakhtin, it had all made so much sense. Survival had been part of it, sure. But the little details, now they fit into the nice picture before her. She understood why he’d wanted her taken out so badly because if survival had been his only motivator, then he could have ran for safety the moment the List was in his hands.

Revenge was the only thing that had it all make sense, that explained his attempts to kill her and explained why he’d gone after Delphine.

“Whether you believe me or not, he mattered David,” Lorraine said.

David spit on the ground in response. She saw real anger behind his eyes. She imagined he had looked that way killing Bakhtin too. “But clearly not as much as your country.”

Had Lorraine wanted to warn James? A small part of her had. But the mission had been first and foremost and warning him would have given herself away. “No, but he mattered enough for me not to kill you here and now.”

It seemed like she’d finally surprised David. He quickly masked the shock with another pained laugh and said, “How the hell are you going to convince them I’m Satchel without a body?”

“I have friends that will be able to do that easily.”

“Still doesn’t make since. Keeping me alive? When this entire time I’ve been trying to have you killed? You know I’ve already told Bremovych who you really work for.”

“And I thank you for the warning. But you killed the one who murdered James. You’ve gotten your revenge,” Lorraine evenly responded. “Now because of that bond we share, I’m going to let you win the other game. There’s no better assurance in surviving than when people think you’re already dead.”

Silence stretched between them and though Lorraine could tell she was winning, David wasn’t completely won over yet. His bond with James had apparently been stronger than she’d even theorized. It was interesting that James had never told her about David.

“You may not have pulled the trigger,” growled David, “but you got him killed all the same.”

Maybe it was the lighting in the alleyway. Or perhaps the pain was getting to David. But Lorraine saw the flash of reflective water as it fell down his cheek and was suddenly gone.

“You know as well as I do that our lives weren’t our own the moment we chose this life,” said Lorraine. “Now, take the chance to have your life back David. Take my offer.”

“All this talk,” David laughed, “and you haven’t even explained the fucking offer because I know that this isn’t just about James.”

“I’m going to help you disappear David. It’s clear from your actions over the past few days that you don’t share much love for your homeland anymore and I doubt you ever planned to go back anyways. But in return, you’re going to help Delphine disappear.”

“Oh, oh now that’s fucking rich. You grow a conscious for her but not for James. You spent fucking weeks with him and all it takes is two dates and the French bitch has won you over! Did James really mean that fucking little to you?”

“As I told you before, he didn’t. But his path sadly crossed my mission. Delphine doesn’t have anything else to do with this. She should be able to walk free.” Her eyes narrowed as she looked down at him. “You I’d like to see hanged but I’ll say it again, I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it for James.”

“And what if I take your offer, kill her, and just slip away?”

“You won’t do that for the same reason you didn’t try and kill me yourself. You value your life and you know that value would be in danger of being slashed at any moment if you did something like that.”

“Yeah? Well…maybe you’re right. But James aside it doesn’t explain why you don’t have one of your ‘friends’ help her out instead.”

“You said it yourself. You know the ins and outs of Berlin better than anyone by now. That means you know the exits. Besides, this needs to be completely off the record and who better to keep this secret than a dead man?”

Lorraine knew now that she had won him over. He would never forgive her but he wouldn’t cross her and that was all she needed in this instance.

She held out her hand and pulled David up, the man grunting in pain from the wound. “If you wanted my help, was shooting me all that necessary?”

“I wanted to avoid any rash decisions on your part,” Lorraine replied. “I’m sure you know where to find Delphine. Goodbye David. I’m assuming you don’t need any luck.”

She began to walk past him, into the fireworks and celebrations but despite the commotion in front of her and all around, she heard David’s final words to her.

“He fucking loved you! You know that!? He wanted to marry you!”

This time Lorraine chose to believe that it was the commotion of the crowd that made David’s voice sound so ragged and pained. It helped to explain her broken whisper of, “That’s too bad.”

* * *

 

Lorraine walked into the Paris coffee shop and sat in front of her. Everything had gone to plan and after all the carnage Lorraine had both had a hand in and witnessed, it felt good that she had saved someone’s life as well, particularly someone who should have never gotten involved in all this in the first place.

“So, is it a poem or the lyrics to your first song as a rock star?”

Black hair was pushed back and Delphine finally looked up at her with a soft smile. “Why not both?”

“You have a point,” Lorraine chuckled softly. “A poet rock star is far more interesting than separating the two.”

Delphine grinned before leaning across the small table and kissing Lorraine like it was for the last time. The passion and urgency in it made Lorraine smile but she made sure to lean back and murmur, “Don’t worry, I’m not going anytime soon.”


End file.
